


Saving lives in winter

by Rogercat



Series: Ancalagon the cat [11]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, Fourth Age, Gen, Married Couple, Minor Injuries, Snow Storm, Valinor, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:41:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26993092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: Ancalagon proves himself to be a very useful cat again
Relationships: Dior Eluchíl/Nimloth of Doriath
Series: Ancalagon the cat [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633960
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Saving lives in winter

It was a blessing that Ancalagon belonged to a cat breed that came from northern Valinor and thus had thick winter fur, otherwise it would have been less pleasant for him to hunt mice outdoors during the night. Now he had plans to warm up in the double bed of his owners. 

“Mew. Mew, meow.” 

It was the feeling of four cold wet little weights on her back that woke up Nimloth that morning. 

“Anca, get your ice-cold paws off me!” she almost shouted, making Dior open his eyes in reaction as the feline moved over to him. 

“Haah? Ancalagon, no, do not climb on me until you are a little warmer.” 

Finally the cat laid down between them, and they could fall back into sleep for a little longer. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Later in the day, Dior spoke of taking his skis down to the local lake and see if there had been any catch in the hunting snares he had put up there yesterday. 

“I will need to finish preparing that deer meat we planned to have at dinner, so I can not come along, sadly.”

Neither husband nor wife was surprised to see Ancalagon do his best to follow after Dior in the snow, for all of that the cat looked like he was swimming where there were deeper snow drifts. 

“Anca, I am not going to have a peanut allergy reaction in winter! You can stay at home.”

Well, the cat was easy to see in the snow if Dior needed to look for him later. 

Celegorm and Huan were also out today, though it was mostly a patrol rather than a proper hunt. 

“Oh, great, a snow storm is about to come over us,” the third son of Fëanor muttered in displeasure when the wind grew stronger. It was that change in the air that promised a storm later. Lucky, he was not far from the home of Dior and Nimloth, perhaps they could offer him shelter until the storm had passed. But suddenly Huan seemed to smell something different in the air, and barked to get his attention. 

“No, it is a bad timing for a game animal to show up now. Oromë always said during my apprenticeship that hunting during storms are dangerous...eh?”

Was that the yowling of a cat? And one that he was rather familiar with from before, too. Had Ancalagon gotten stuck up in a tree somewhere? 

“Ancalagon? Where are you?” 

A new meowing in response, closer this time. 

“Celegorm? Ancalagon and I am over here!” the faint sound of Dior's voice could be heard in the wind, “I stepped into a rabbit hole hidden in the snow and I can not walk because of the sprained ankle!”

Oh no, that sounded really bad, if Dior could not walk without help. Following the sound of Ancalagon, Celegorm thankfully quickly found the son of Luthien sitting in the bad shelter of a fir-tree, the black feline curled up in the lap of his owner as if realizing that Dior needed warmth from the cold right now. 

“Rabbit holes are a pain, indeed, and at such a bad time! Damned jumping furballs! There is a reason why we tend to hunt a big number of wild rabbits every year in the hope of at least killing a nice amount of fertile males and females before they reproduce!” Celegorm swore when he tried to remove the boot to see how badly the strained ankle was and Dior gave out a cry of pain. Seeing that he could not do anything about the boot now, they worked together to get Dior up on Huan so he would ride the huge hound and Celegorm carried Ancalagon in his backpack. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X 

Around the house, Nimloth and the household servants had begun to search for Dior and Ancalagon when they did not return as the storm arrived. 

“Dior! Dior, Ancalagon!” 

Nimloth knew that Dior could have been delayed if Ancalagon had wandered off somewhere at the lake and needed to be found again, but right now it was his human blood that worried her most. There were several very good reasons why winter was not the favorite season for them and their twin sons, the Sack of Doriath and their deaths being two of them. 

“Dior!” 

Two shapes showed up among the wind that made it so hard to see far. Celegorm and Huan. Both of them carried her husband and the cat that had been missing for over two long hours. 

“Nimloth, get some things needed to help warm up Dior!” 

  
  


Once indoors in front of the large kitchen hearth, Nimloth and the servants helped to partly undress Dior so he would stop freezing in the outdoor clothes that had been cooled by his extended stay out in the cold. Huan blocked the kitchen door, finding a good place to rest there while the Elves were busy in front of the fire. 

“No wonder I could not easily remove your boot earlier, you are awfully swollen and purple at the ankle!” 

As a hunter it was very practical to have skills in first aid, so Celegorm helped to carefully wrap Dior's ankle in bandages after first using a herbal salve that would lessen the pain and swelling. 

“Make sure that Anca gets a generous treat for following with me today, I am not sure that Celegorm would have found me that quickly without him...ah, Anca! That cream was for the dessert tonight!” Dior commented when he saw something on the other end of the kitchen. Of course, Ancalagon had already “served” himself by jumping up on the table where the cook would bake bread or sweets for his employers and enjoying the cream before he was noticed by someone. 

“Spoiled cat, but a hero all the same,” Nimloth smiled in a fond voice and petted the feline on the head, which she was rewarded with a loud spinning. 


End file.
